Air and gas mixer



N0. 6l4,836. Patented Nov. 29 I898.v

a. s. CHAMBERS.

AIR'AND GAS MIXER.

(Application filed Kay 28, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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NrrED STATES ATENT Priest GARRETT S. CHAMBERS, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

AIR AND GAS MIXER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,836, dated November 29, 1898.

Application filed May 28, 1898.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GARRETT S. CHAMBERS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Des Moines, Polk county, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air and Gas Mixers, of which the following is a specification.

It is well known that air-currents charged with hydrocarbon vapors of gasolene or gaseous oils from carbureters and intended for illuminatingpurposes may vary from time to time in the degree of saturation, thus causing corresponding variations in the illuminating power of the gas, the principle objection being found in an overcharging of the illuminant with the gaseous vapors causing smoke in the burning of the illuminant, resulting in diminished candle-power and the giving off of noxious and unpleasant odors. The density of the gas also is much affected by the number of burners in use or the quantity of gas consumed by the specific gravity of the hydrocarbon employed, by the temperature of the atmosphere, andby the length of time the burners have been in use.

It is known that the density or weight of the gaseous vapors varies with the degree of its saturation by the vapors of oil and that these vapors maybe mixed in proper proportions with air and an illuminant of unvarying candle-power and uniform quality thereby produced.

The object of my invention is the production of a machine for supplying to and mixing with the gaseous vapors such a quantity of air as will make the desired proportions of air and gas to produce the perfect illuminant, and which machine will be operated by the weight and gravity of the illuminant relative to the density of atmospheric air as contradistinguished to the buoyancy of gaseous vapors relative to the weight of atmospheric air.

My invention consists in the combination of a mixing-chamber suspended in atmospheric air under normal pressure and provided with ingress and egress ports for gas eons vapors from a carbureter and a valvecontrolled ingress-port for atmospheric air under pressure as great or greater than the pressure of the gaseous vapors, the valve of the air-ingress port being controlled by the Serial No. 682,051- (No model.)

weight or gravity of the gas in the chamber relative to the density of the air in which the chamber is suspended in contradistinction to the buoyancy of the gas relative to the weight of an air-filled float or chamber suspended therein.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationv of structural elements, in addition to the broader statement of invention above noted, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a diametrical vertical section of the machine. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the machine on the indicated line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is avertical section of the machine at right angles to the section of Fig. 1 and on the indicated line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section of the inner end portion of the air-supply pipe, showing the ballvalve employed therein. a

In the construction of the machine as shown the numeral 10 designates an outer casing or chamber, which may or may not be air-tight, as it is employed solely and entirely as a protecting-jacket and support for the other mechanism. A gas-supply pipe 11 is mounted rigidly in and traverses the center of the top of the casing 10. A cup 12 is formed on or fixed to and surrounds the lower end of the gas-supply pipe 11 within the casing 10, and said cup is in operation filled nearly to its top with quicksilver or suitable heavy liquid. A T 13 is screw-seated on the upper end of the gas-supply pipe 11 outside the easing 10, and a connecting-pipe 14: leads from said T to a carbureter. (Not shown.) A gasdischarge pipe 15 is mounted rigidly in and traverses the center of the bottom of the easing 10. A cup 16 is formed on or fixed to the upper surface of the bottom of the casing 10 and in operation is filled nearly to its top with quicksilver orsuitable heavy liquid. The cup 16 surrounds the upper end portion of the gasdischarge pipe 15 and the upper ends of the cup and pipe are in substantially the same horizontal plane, thereby providing or forming an annular receptacle for the liquid. Lugs 18 19 are mounted on and fixed to the inner surface of the casing 10 opposite each other and near the top of said casing, and a forked lever is fulcrumed near the extremities of its arms by means of knife-edges 21 22 on said lugs. The arms of the forked lever 20 are curved to conform to the curvature of the inner surface of the casing and the straight portion-or stem of the lever extends radially into an offset or annex to the casing, (designated by the numeral 23.) The offset or annex 23 may be provided with a door or hand-hole through which access may be had to the interior thereof. The stem or straight portion of the lever 20 is provided with a poise 24 or balancing-weight mounted thereon and arranged for movement or adjustment longitudinally thereof. The extremities of the arms of the lever 20 are curved downwardly, forwardly, and inwardly and terminate in upwardly-extending knife-edge bearings, one of which is shown in Fig. 3 and marked by the numeral 25.

A gas-mixing chamber 26 is located in the casing 10 and suspended therein by means of lugs 27 28, mounted on the outer surface thereof diametrically opposite each other and resting on the knife-edge bearings of the lever 20. The gas-mixing chamber is imperforate except at the centers of its top and bottom. The gas-mixing chamber 26 is formed with a plane top apertured at its center, and a collar 29 surrounds said aperture, is fixed to and projects downwardlyfrom the top, and enters freely into the cup 12 on the gas-supply pipe 11 and into the liquid therein. The liquid in the cup 12 seals and renders air-tight and gas-tight the free joint of connection between the gas mixing chamber and the gassupply pipe. The gas-mixing chamber 26 is formed with a hopper-bottom apertured at its apex, and a collar 30 is fixed to and downwardly extends from the bottom, surrounds the aperture therein, and enters freely into the liquid in the cup 17, which liquid seals or renders air-tight and gas-tight the joint or connection between the collar and cup. The gas-mixing chamber is provided with concavo-convex partitions arranged horizontally on the interior thereof. I have illustrated five of such partitions 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35, the partitions 31, 33, and being arranged with their convex surfaces upwardly and the partitions 34 alternating therewith being arranged with their convex surfaces downwardly. The partitions 31, 33, and 35 are of less diameter than the chamber 26 and are held therein by means of arms 36, radially projecting therefrom and fixed to the interior surface of the chamber, thus providing slots or passages 37 approximating in length to the circumference of said partitions for the flow of gas through the chamber. Otherwise the partitions 31, 33, and 35 are imperforate. The partitions 32 34 are apertured at their centers and are fixed at their circumferential margins to the inner surface of the chamber 26, the apertures at the cen ters of the partitions being designated by the numerals 3S An air-supply pipe 40 is mounted longitudinally and in the center of the gas-supply pipe 11 and the T 13 and projects therefrom at both ends, being screw-seated in the T to hold the same rigidly. The upper end of the air-supply pipe 40 is connected to an airpump, (not shown,) whereby atmospheric air may be forced through said pipe under pressure as great or greater than the pressure of the gas flowing from the carbureter through the gas-supply pipe. Achamfered seat 41 is formed in the lower end of the air-supply pipe 40, and angle-arms 42, fixed to said pipe, engage and support at times a ball-valve 45 in proximity to said seat.

It will be observed that the ball-valve 43 is of greater diameter than the discharge end of the pipe 40, and it follows that when the air is discharged from the pipe it will be disseminated or sprayed by the surface of the ball throughout the upper portion of the mixing-chamber.

Experience and actual extended use of the machine may demonstrate the advisability of omitting some or all of the partitions from the mixing-chamber and providing a simple cross-bar or equivalent device for sustaining and operating the ball-valve, and for this reason I have omitted the partitions from some of my claims, believing, as I do, that a very satisfactorily operating device may be constructed without their use.

In practical use and operation of the machine the gas-supply pipe is connected with a carbureter, the air-supply pipe is connected with an air pump or reservoir, the gas-discharge pipe is connected with the burners, and the weight of the gas-mixing chamber 26, filled with gaseous vapor of the desired degree of richness or saturation, is counterbalanced by the poise 24 in exactly the necessary position as to elevation to cause the apex of the partition 35 to lift the ball-valve 43 into its seat 41 and obstruct and cut off the flow of air through the pipe 40 into the chamber. Thereafter as the gas is consumed at the burners a constant supplyfrom the carb ureter flows into the chamber 26 through the pipe 11 and circulates through said chamber, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1, by way of the passages 37 at the circumferential margins of the partitions 35, 33, and 31 and by way of the apertures in the centers of the partitions 34 32. When for the reasons abovenoted the gas becomes too rich or saturated to an excessive degree, the combined weight of the chamber 26 and its contents overcomes the influence of the poise 24 and sinks the chamber,thereby releasing the sustaining force of the partition 35 from the ball-valve 43 and permitting said valve to fall and remove from its seat, thus opening the pipe 40 for the admission of atmospheric air to the chamber. The atmospheric air admitted from the pipe 40 follows the direction of the flowing gas, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1, and travels sinuously through the chamber 26, thoroughly commingling with the gaseous vapors and reducing the richness or saturation thereof to the desired extent, at which time the chamber and its contents, becoming lighter in weight, rise and the partition 35 reseats the valve 43 and shuts off the flow of air. This operation recurs whenever necessary under the infinence of and dependent wholly upon the degree of saturation of the gas Within the chamber.

It is to be understood that the ball-valve opens but a slight distance, inasmuch as the chamber 26 is so nicely poised and accurately adjusted that any increase Whatever in the gravity of the gas therein will be sufficient to open the valve, and a slight amount of air admitted thereto will reduce the gravity of the gas therein sufliciently to close the valve.

If for any reason it is desired to vary the degree of saturation of the gas employed, the same may be effected by a ditterentadj ustment of the poise 24 on the stem of the lever 20, causing said poise to counterbalance a difierent degree of weight on the other end of the lever.

I claim as my invention- 1. An air and gas mixing machine, comprising a mixing-chamber suspended in at mospheric air under normal pressure and provided with ingress and egress ports for gaseous vapors and a valve-controlled ingress-port for atmospheric air under pressure as great as or greater than the pressure of the gaseous vapors, the valve of the air-ingress port being controlled by the gravity of the gas in the chamber relative to the density of the atmospheric air in which the chamber is suspended.

2. An air and gas mixing machine, comprising a mixing-chamber, a lever carrying said chamber, gas supply and discharge ports at opposite ends of said chamber and normally open thereto, an air-supply pipe entering said chamber adjacent to the gas-supply pipe and a valve in said air-supply pipe, which valve is controlled by the rise and fall of the chamber caused by variations of the specific gravity of the gas in the chamber.

3. The combination of a casing, a forked lever fulcrumed in said casing, a poise on the stem of said lever, a mixing-chamber balanced on the extremities of said lever, a gassupply pipe entering the upper end of said chamber, a gas-discharge pipe leading from the lower end of said chamber, an air-supply pipe entering the upper end of the chamber, a valve in the lower end of the air-supply pipe, and a partition in the chamber arranged for impingement with the valve to close the same. 7

4. In a machine of the class described, a gas-mixing chamber provided With inlet and outlet ports for gas and an inlet-port for air, concavo-convex partitions horizontally positioned in said chamber and alternately inverted relative to each other, gas-passages at the circumferential margins of some of the partitions, gas-passages at the centers of the other partitions and alternating With the circumferential passages, and means for controlling the flow of air into the chamber.

5. In a machine of the class described, a gas-mixing chamber, a gas-supply pipe entering the top of said chamber, a liquid-cup on said pipe, a collar on the chamber entering the liquid-cup, a gas-discharge pipe leading from the bottom of the chamber, a liquidcup surrounding the discharge-pipe, a collar on the chamber entering the latter said cup, an air-supply pipe entering the top of the chamber and means for controlling, the flow of'air through saidpipe.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of the chamber, the gas-supply pipe entering said chamber, the T on said pipe and adapted to be connected with a carbu reter, and an air supply pipe rigidly mounted in the T and extending longitudinally through the gas-supply pipe and provided With a valve at its inner end, together With a seat for said valve on the air-supply P P Signed by me, at Des Moines, Iowa, this 24th day of May, 1898.

GARRETT S. CHAMBERS.

Witnesses: S. 0. SWEET,

THOMAS G. ORWIG. 

